Dear...

Dear monthly flow,
Why can't you ever be subtle? Always bringing ugly break outs and PMS along with you. PMS = Psychotic Mood Shift, Poor Me Syndrome, Pain Misery Suffering, Potential Murder Suspect.


Dear business man I hurt his privates with my nuisance of an A2 portfolio case,

I'm so sorry, I cannot imagine the suffering I caused you. And I guess I never will. You told me, while bent over holding on to your crotch with a pained expression, to be careful I don't jab anyone else on the you-know-where, and I was after that incident. I don't swing my arms anymore. I should've learnt my lesson previously when I accidentally knocked a little kid over.

Dear extremely good-looking boy,
If I was a menswear designer, I'd cast you right away to wear my range. You might even be my style/model muse, like Erin Wasson is to Alexander Wang. You have definitely perfected the Art of the Pants Roll like a true dapper. We have yet to converse, which I don't see it happening any time soon. Whether that might be a fortunate thing I do ponder.

Dear curly blonde haired girl with beauty spot,
Thank you for telling me that I looked really nice. I'm glad you understand and appreciate the sock-and-sandals trend and the female-dandy trend. Your compliments made me feel less daggy for the rest of the day.


Dear self,
Be of good cheer.


Dear future husband,
I doubt you have problems with public speaking, but I have mega stage-fright. And I've come to realise it helps if you think everybody likes you. (The classic "picture them in underwear" technique stumbles me.) This is the same in the world. Know that you are favoured. You are preferred. You are delighted in. You are liked. If you are ever facing hardship, remember that the best is yet to come, because you are favoured. The indicator of favour is not having 'stuff' nor popularity nor success. Don't let circumstances, situations and problems make you forget the truth. This is for me too.

Helvetica

Today, we studied the typeface, Helvetica. In the world of type, Helvetica was the supposed endpoint of design. It was designed to be 100-percent emotionally neutral. It caused a revolution, because everything the font touched it modernised. It’s simply one of the most versatile font sets in existence. With a large family (range of weights and styles) it can span applications from industrial signage to fashion brands. The general consensus is that the decision to us Helvetica is one that "lacks creativity", and in many ways it's true, given that it has been so overused, so badly, so often. I don't think I would use Helvetica for absolutely everything. But I think that any design can carry a thoughtful typographic use of Helvetica. I'm not saying Helvetica is the solution, but it’s difficult to deny the font’s usability and longevity. I appreciate Helvetica for it’s pure simplicity and clarity. I love it. Look around you. How many logos do you see that use Helvetica? Until I watched the documentary about the most popular sans-serif font of all time, I never knew this typeface was staring at me everyday from everywhere. Oh, by the way, Ariel is Microsoft's copy-cat version of Helvetica.

Monday Morning

Every monday morning,

I can always count on my barista

at my local buzzing cafe,

frothing and steaming my large skinny cap to go--

he pauses and asks,

"Did you fall in love over the weekend?"

Even though my answer is always the same,

it always makes my day.

10 Menswear Trends

Esquire UK September 2010

Photographer: Desmond Muckian

Models: Callum Turner, Sebastian Suave

Stylist: Gareth Scourfield

Mr Wilde, we think alike.

"With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?"

Oscar Wilde

Muse: Betty Draper, Mad Men

With so much 50s and 60s femininity going around in the September issues, we're in danger of being caught up in a whirlpool of similarity. But it's no great accident thata resurgence in early '60s fashion has coincided with the popularity of Mad Men. Guaranteed, there will be many more posts with this title. But, I love Betty Draper's classic style, and am single-handedly trying to bring into my wardrobe peddle-pushers, shirt dresses cinched with a belt, high-waisted skirts, high-waisted pants, full skirts, feminine blouses, pencil skirts, polka dots and red lipstick. She is always exquisitely dressed, coiffed and groomed, the spitting image of well-to-do suburban life. January Jones slips seamlessly into Betty's shoes, and also her look.Like Grace Kelly, her style is timeless and elegant.

My box of chocolates

You know it's been a bad day when:

You find yourself laying on the bathroom floor at midnight eating an expensive box of chocolates with no motivation whatsoever to walk 4 metres and get into bed.

However:

You know things always inevitably look better in the morning when you are eating that same box of chocolates for breakfast, and for some reason, everything suddenly makes sense.

Dear...

Dear girl with the red heart,
The sun will shine soon. Face the clouds, to find the silver lining. Get well soon.


Dear Mr. Panny Pancakes,
Enjoy New York! New York! But don't have too much of a blast, then you won't want to come back, don't pick up a fake American accent, and look out for Blair Waldorf at NYU!


Dear asian James Franco,
The moment you first opened your mouth I knew you wouldn't be such a good influence. But I think you are, unexpectedly and surprisingly, intelligent, loyal and deep. I just hope on the contrary I can be somewhat of a virtuous influence on you. By the way, quit smoking, and you could have really clear skin like 'extremely good looking boy'.


Dear extremely good looking boy,
I actually have nothing to say to you today. Maybe except that you have beautiful exotic skin.


Dear quiet emo boy,
I quite admire you because you're a lone wolf. I've noticed you've been sporting a 5 O'clock shadow the past two weeks, but  I think you look clean-cut clean shaven.


Dear massive pimple on my face,
Please go away ASAP, as in by tomorrow morning. You're starting to look like the ugly wart on Nanny McPhee.


Dear future husband,
Wherever in the world you are, it's that inter-seasonal time of the year, so be careful of catching a cold, like I did. Layering is the key. By the way, do you like classical music? I hope you do. Then we can turn it on super loud in our house all day.


Dear self,
You really need to cut back your coffee intake. Shaky hands is not a sexy look. Opt for chai lattes.

Remember

Do you ever wake up and wonder,

"Is there going to be something about today that I will always remember?"

Different is Beautiful

Every welcome mat

Every welcome rug

Is trying hard to say what so many people overlook

I hope someday

I hope just once

We'll truly realise we're all equal

Welcome is for all of us

Everybody is different

I think different is beautiful

If we were all the same

This world would be unliveable

This whole earth turns to intricate it's undeniable

That God made us different

So that means different is beautiful

The path that brought you here

Is different than mine

That doesn't make it worse or better

Just a different story line

I hope someday that we all agree

That author of it all had a reason

For the difference in you and me.

Different is beautiful - Riley Armstrong

London Calling

Today I saw a tall well-dressed boy in a Burberry-esque ink military-inspired coat with 'regency' hair (men's 2010 hair trend I'm loving, see Bottega Venata Menswear SS09, Marni Menswear FW09, Burberry Prorsum Menswear SS09), and I just had to do a double take. No, a triple take. A quadruple take. I think it was because he was so perfectly in tune with the mens fashion trend, and also his style had a certain British charm. He reminded me of this particular editorial in the September issue of GQ Japan, featuring Burberry Prorsum's Menswear FW10 collection, paired with the men's hair trend and other styling trends that you'd do well to take note of.

Photographer: Nick Leary

Model: Luke Stevens

Stylist: Grant Pearce

Camel: Colour of the Season

Vogue Nippon, Vogue Russia, Vogue UK, Chloe Campaign, Harpers Bazaar

Muse: Anna Dello Russo

I have to admit, I really admire Vogue Nippon's editor and fashion icon Anna Dello Russo. She is so fearless and personally encourages me to be a risk-taker. She is only one of few that can manage to pull of everything from ready-to-wear to couture, Rodarte to Chanel. Rumour has it there is to be a documentary following her and her 4,000 pairs of shoes and a wardrobe rivalling Carrie Bradshaw's, through six fashion capital cities!

Like a child

I want to be forever child-like.

Not childish, but like a child.

Simplicity, humility and wonder.

Despite it all, I watch fairy tales

to remind me

love can spring from most unlikeliest of places.

Sometimes even fairy tales can come true.

Dear...

Dear Pan offsprings,
I am grateful for each and every one of you. It's so bizarre how I crave your company after a few days of seeing you. It's been 5 days and I'm showing withdrawal symptoms. Thank you for checking up on me during the week just to see how I'm doing. By the way, I have been failing our new diet, because I just keep forgetting I'm on a diet.


Dear extremely good looking boy,
You're a jerk. Stop smirking. You make my stage fright multiply by a hundred. You make it hard to pay attention to the lecturer when you are so much more fun to pay attention to.


Dear girl who insisted her sweater was green when it was aquamarine, and my acquaintance-turned-friend,
I had a super long day, but you made the evening the highlight. Thank you for rescuing my A2 portfolio. You two make me laugh so much, I feel like there's no need to exercise.


Dear sonant boy,
I still don't know how our friendship came about. Thank you for always listening to me rambling on, waffling on (mmm... waffles...), venting and whinging - being my drama-queen self. But you tend to mumble on too, or maybe I just need hearing aids.


Dear future husband,
Would a cheek piercing bother you? What a stupid question. You don't care because you're not superficial. You are awesome.


Dear self,
Remove 'busy' and 'stressed' from your vocabulary. Who wants to have a busy friend? Instead, replace it with the words 'full' and 'challenged'. "My plate is full"... "I am feeling challenged"... etc

Dear God,

I will be who I am. Show up for me.

Obsession Du Jour: Aout

While eagerly waiting for the new season's shades to hit the store later this year, I've been donning what I believe to be the perfect transitional colour. The find it, the conditions were elaborate in scope and limiting in nature; no to neons, refused all reds, banished all blues. So what was it that satisfied my fingertips? Gray; a newish neutral seen on the digits of ladies like Sienna Miller, Scarlett Johansson, Victoria Beckham, Agness Deyn, Megan Fox, Heidi Klum and Jessica Szhor (Gossip Girl's Venessa). I'm talking about a real grey, something the colour of concrete, a shade that's the niftiest of neutrals. The thing about gray is this: it perfectly harmonises with winter's many dark and muted shades, plus it will look glorious with your spring pastels, and summer brights! I adore black nails, but gray is a little more edgy, modern, cool and chic - excellent this transeasonal time of the year!